REGENTS APPOINT HAMMOND, MACK-HARVIN, MULLER AND SHERBY TO ADVISORY COUNCIL ON LIBRARIES

The New York State Board of Regents has appointed John Hammond, Dionne Mack-Harvin, Mary Muller and Louise Sherby to the Regents Advisory Council on Libraries. The term for Mr. Hammond, who is filling an unfulfilled term, will be until 2011; terms for Ms. Mack-Harvin, Ms. Muller and Ms. Sherby will be until 2014.

John Hammond is the Executive Director of the Northern New York Library Network in Potsdam, NY. Prior to this appointment, he was the Associate Director of the Kansas City, MO Public Library. He earned his Masters of Library Science from Southern Connecticut State University. In 1998, Mr. Hammond won the New York Library Association Outstanding Service Award, and in 2001 served as NYLA President. In 2003, Mr. Hammond founded the New Yorkers for Better Libraries Political Action Committee, and now serves as its Treasurer. He currently serves as the President
of the North Country Library System in Watertown, NY and as the convener of the Steering Committee of the New York Alliance of Library Systems.

Ms. Dionne Mack-Harvin is the Executive Director of the Brooklyn Public Library. Prior to her appointment in March 2007, Ms. Mack-Harvin served as the library’s Interim Executive Director and Chief of Staff. She earned her Masters of Library Science at the University at Albany. In 2009, Ms. Mack-Harvin was recognized as one of The Network Journal’s “40 Under 40 Dynamic Achievers.” She is a 2008 recipient of the Brooklyn Reading Council’s Friend of Literacy Award and a 2008 honoree of Crain’s New York Business “40 Under 40” leaders in the business world.

Ms. Muller is the President of the Board of Trustees at the Troy Public Library and is employed at Market Block Books in Troy, NY Prior to this, she administered U.S. Government library programs in Latin America, Europe, and Asia over a 22-year career in the U.S. Foreign Service. She earned her Masters of Library Science at the University of Michigan. Ms. Muller is the Vice President of the Upper Hudson Library System Board, serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Retarded Citizens (ARC) of Rensselaer County and is Vice President of the League of Women Voters, Rensselaer Chapter.

Ms. Sherby served as the Associate Dean and Chief Librarian at Hunter College Libraries, City University of New York from 1996-2009 and is on sabbatical leave for this academic year. Prior to this, Ms. Sherby was the Assistant Director for Public Services at the Miller Nichols Library at the University of Missouri, Kansas City. She received her Doctorate of Library Science at Columbia University. She served as Chair of the New York Higher Education Initiative (NYSHEI) 2006-07, and as Associate Dean served on the Council of Chief Librarians, City University of New York, and on the Dean’s Council at Hunter College. She is currently on the Editorial Board of Urban Library Journal.

Other members of the Council are: Barbara Hamlin, Wood Library Board
of Trustees, Canandaigua; Jill Hurst-Wahl, Hurst Associates, Syracuse; Sara Kelly Johns, Lake Placid Middle/Senior High School, Lake Placid; Tim Johnson, New York University Libraries, New York City; John Monahan, Putnam-Northern Westchester BOCES, Yorktown Heights; Gerald Nichols, Palmer Institute for Public Library Organization and Management, Brookville; Bridget Quinn-Carey, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, Buffalo; and Sam Simon, Ramapo Catskill Library System Board of Trustees, South Nyack. Ellen Bach, David Ferriero, Norm Jacknis, and Lucretia McClure have completed their five-year terms with distinction, leading the Regents Advisory Council efforts to provide information about New York’s libraries to legislators and other decision makers.

The Regents Advisory Council on Libraries works with the officers of the State Education Department in developing a comprehensive statewide library and information policy, and makes recommendations to the Regents concerning the implementation of the program. The Council is broadly representative of libraries and statewide constituencies served by the New York State Library. For more information about the Regents Advisory Council, visit the State Library’s website at:
http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/adviscns/rac/index.html.

Nominations for future appointments to the Council are welcomed by the State Education Department. They should be sent to the Office of the State Librarian, New York State Library, Room 10C34 Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York 12230.